Businesses and county buildings throughout Spring and Klein are rebuilding and reopening after sustaining damage from Hurricane Harvey flooding. Additionally, debris removal is ongoing, and conservation efforts have ramped up.
Harris County Precinct 4 completed the first of three debris removal passes through the region Oct. 17. During this first phase, 500,000 cubic yards of debris was removed from about 11,000 homes that flooded throughout the precinct. The third and final debris pass is scheduled to begin Nov. 5.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle said the first pass was completed 20 days ahead of schedule because municipal utility districts and contractors worked with the precinct to promptly remove debris.
“We were able to remove the same amount of debris every two days that we removed in the entire Tax Day flood [in 2016], which took three weeks to remove,” Cagle said.
The Harris County Courthouse annex and the Barbara Bush Branch Library—both located on Cypresswood Drive in Spring—also sustained significant damage from flooding.
Dimetra Hamilton, communications manager with the Harris County Engineering Department, said once the county selects a contractor for the courthouse project, it will take about three or four months to complete. The building needs new Sheetrock, carpet, tile, electric utilities and furniture.
Lincoln Goodwin, Precinct 4 justice of the peace, who presides over the court, will work out of the Harris County Courthouse annex at 7900 Will Clayton Parkway, Humble, until the Cypresswood Drive complex reopens.
Clara Maynard, Barbara Bush Branch library manager, said flooding caused $2 million in damage to flooring, computers and books in the library. A reopening date for the library has not yet been set.
While some county buildings are still closed, many businesses in Spring and Klein that sustained flood damage have reopened, including Sosa’s Pizzeria on Stuebner Airline Road and I Heart Boba on Cypresswood Drive. Kroger locations at 10010 Cypresswood Drive and 15802 Champion Forest Drive will reopen later this year, Kroger spokesperson Joy Partain said.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett presented 15 strategies he said will mitigate future flood damage in the county at press conference on Oct. 25. These strategies include updating Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps to show Harvey’s effect and building a third reservoir in northwest Harris County with the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
Jill Boullion, executive director of the Bayou Land Conservancy—a nonprofit land trust that preserves land along creeks and bayous in the Greater Houston region—said the recent flooding shows that both additional flood mitigation infrastructure and land preservation is needed throughout the Greater Houston area.
“There is definitely going to be some things that have to be built,” Boullion said. “Drainage systems will have to be improved, some additional detention will have to be constructed, but also, we need to let the creeks have room to breathe.”
Additional reporting by Holly Gray
